strategy $30K domain sale made possible by LinkedIn followup

[Rob Monster]

Over the weekend, I helped @RJ complete a domain sale of the domain name Level7.com. For those of you who don't know RJ, he is the founder of NamePros. When he started moving his domains to Epik, I did not even realize it but have since enjoyed supporting his efforts and have found him to be a supportive ally.

The Deal
As for the transaction, the all-cash sale price was $30,000. Although we don't normally post domain sales, @RJ and I agreed that this was worth mentioning because it illustrates some points about how domain sellers can make effective use of LinkedIn for closing deals and increasing their professional network.

The domain name Level7.com is in of itself not a keyword name. However, if you look at the word level in combination with any number, they are pretty much all taken, even the spelled out versions. If you do a search you will also see that there are many buyers for such names. As such, I think $30K was entirely reasonable.

The Lesson
The relevant point that I want to highlight is the effective use of LinkedIn with customer followups. I am a little bit unique in that I have more than 22,000 1st level connections and about 1.2 million second level connections. However the principles are still relevant to anyone who is serious about this industry.

A few best practices that I am happy to share:

1. Identify the prospect
When we get an inquiry from a prospect, one of the first things I do is I look them up via LinkedIn. We usually know their name, email, phone number and their IP address. So with that, it is pretty straight forward to determine who they are, where they live, who they work for, whether they might be wealthy, etc.

2. Engage and verify the prospect
When responding to the email inquiry, I will often reference their LinkedIn profile and ask them if that is them. That lets them know that you know exactly who they are. It is also a really effective way to make sure you are
not dealing with an impostor. The impostors quickly scatter. Serious people will accept a friend request.

3. Follow up with the prospect
With the connection now made you now have the option of using LinkedIns free CRM tools which many people have tied to their mobile phone as an app which is a lot easier to notice than an email which can get easily lost in the shuffle. It is also a way to soft-sell if the buyer does not commit right away.

4. Manage an ongoing relationship
Once you are connected, if you are someone who periodically posts on LinkedIn, you do have an opportunity to stay in contact. You can also just like or comment on their posts as another way of signaling your interest in supporting their ambitions. It does not take a lot of time and usually comes back just like engaging on NP.

5. Build your network
Once you are connected with your prospect, you now also have an easy way to find more people like them. because, oftentimes you can also see their network. After all, birds of a feather often flock together. So, the guy who bought your CBD or crypto domain, probably hangs with similar persons. Etc.

So, there you go, a quick primer.

Finally, if someone does get an inquiry for a domain name and wants help closing a deal with a qualified buyer with a high potential prospect, I am happy to help out.

 

[RJ]

Thanks for the assist, @Rob Monster. It is good to remember LinkedIn can be a useful tool in domain negotiations. We have not connected on there yet so I just sent you an invitation.

This is my LinkedIn profile if any other NP members would like to connect:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldjames/

Thank you Rob, for correcting me, advising that the founder of NP is no longer operational with namepros.

This is correct. I have not been involved with ownership or operation of NamePros since 2012... 8 years--wow--time flies. I'm just a member here now like everyone else.

 

[RJ]

Congrats @RJ for the sale, I know it does not have much to do with this thread but I wonder if you could share how long you had it, the approximate acquisition price and what kind of offers did you had in the meantime, it will help the rest of us to price our domains better.

I acquired Level7.com from a SnapNames auction on September 21, 2007 for $622. This was a 12.4 year hold with an ROI of 4,289% (annualized ROI 35.59%).

There have been approximately 30 inquiries from about 20 interested parties over the time I held it. Inquires have been from a variety of business types: an apartment complex, a software company, a cannabis company, and a few other startups. My asking price has fluctuated between $27,000 and $50,000. I declined a $10k offer in 2019, a $10k offer in 2017, and a $20k offer in 2010, all from different parties. (And many other offers <= $1000)

 

[RJ]

Level7.com is an amazing brandable domain name, and as you will probably see soon, this name will be a huge brand upgrade for the company that purchased it. IMO, $30k is a bargain price, and they were smart for buying it.

LinkedIn helped establish that we were dealing with a legitimate inquirer, and made me more willing to consider their offers.

Overall it a quick and easy transaction since trust was built-into the deal and all details were handled by Epik.

 

[Rob Monster]

Forgot to mention, here is my LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/enlightenedcapitalist/

I also mis-stated about the 2nd level connections -- it is actually 1.8 million:

One reason second level connections are useful is that people will often accept your invite to connect if your are 1 degree of separation from an existing connection.

If you are a NP member, you can send a friend request. My network is not hidden so have at it. LinkedIn maxes out at 30,000 connections so won't be too long before that is maxed out.

 

[karmaco]

Great that a deal was closed but the imperative info is —-an offer/interest came in first.

We are all well aware LinkedIn is a good place for info on people and companies. The tricky part is not getting deleted or blocked for unwanted spamming/marketing of names.

There are domainers who have ruined it for more measured domainers with hounding people incessantly on there who have no interest in their crap domains.

The best way to tread is lightly as far as unsolicited marketing. LinkedIn is one of many tools to gather info but no sure bet when you are trying to get people to buy names they haven’t shown interest in.

 

[RJ]

I need to read the thread again. Why did you hand it off? Seems you got an offer in and the sale price was $30,000, which was in your range of $27,000 - $50,000.

I handed it off for a better chance at closing a deal faster, and to get closer to my price. The offer was only at $10k when I handed it off, and my price was at $40k. Rob is in a position to negotiate and make connections while I am working my day job, and his commission is pretty reasonable.

 

[Kassey Lee]

The company page is very useful because you can size the company and then use the people page to locate c-level contacts.

 

[Rob Monster]

The company page is very useful because you can size the company and then use the people page to locate c-level contacts.

Actually, that is a great point you raise there.

If the transaction starts to stall, one thing that I sometimes do is to try to identify who else would be in the executive team related to the final decision on selecting the brand. I then connect with them as well.

If you are dealing with the CEO already, no need to do that.

However, if you are dealing with a manager or exec who might not have budget authority or decision authority, it can be useful to advance the decision-making momentum from more than one angle.

Just be careful to keep it classy and tactful since your main job is not to sell the domain but rather to make the sponsor look like a genius for choosing your domain. The difference is subtle but important.

 

[Rob Monster]

I am an equal opportunity call you out poster. I always stick up for Rob as people bash him for no reason.

His relationship with Namepros is now clear and I might start second guessing the neutrality of namepros, seeing that the founder of NP has brought over all his domains to Epik.

Well, he no longer owns NamePros since forever and is not operationally involved.

I actually did not even realize he was the Founder of NamePros until a couple of weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised when he posted about using NameLiquidate. Bob mentioned it:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/highlight-domains-at-nameliquidate.1175411/

That's actually when I connected the dots.

When he got a 4 figure offer on this domain, I offered to help him close it for a bigger outcome. As far as I can ever recall, we have yet to connect for a phone call or meet in person.

As for the owner of NamePros, that is still cloaked in secrecy. I think I know who it is, but that is still some kind of closely guarded secret.

 

[Rob Monster]

That’s exactly how you get big dollars. You have to believe enough in your asset to reject the bs in pursuit of the real value.

Most people are either scared are in too much of a hurry to make 5,6,7 figure sales.

Agreed.

Good domains are like lines in the water.

If you know what you are doing, you can have many lines in the water, and use technology to make the process of finding fish a lot easier.

Technology is definitely your friend, but patience (and staying power) may be required.

 

[Rob Monster]

Great that a deal was closed but the imperative info is —-an offer/interest came in first.

We are all well aware LinkedIn is a good place for info on people and companies. The tricky part is not getting deleted or blocked for unwanted spamming/marketing of names.

There are domainers who have ruined it for more measured domainers with hounding people incessantly on there who have no interest in their crap domains.

The best way to tread is lightly as far as unsolicited marketing. LinkedIn is one of many tools to gather info but no sure bet when you are trying to get people to buy names they haven’t shown interest in.

Right, I am all about the inbound offers:

- Set SEO-friendly SSL landers

- Set pricing to Make Offer

- Wait for the offer

- Strike while the iron is hot

- Find the win-win: Sale, lease, finance

- Keep it classy


Related thread:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/yall-wanna-shoot-the-moon.1162085/

 

[Rob Monster]

Amazing good job! For closing a 4 figure offer to a 30k sale!! And thanks for sharing the details, and the lessons!!

Did you manage to close the deal talking by phone to the buyer? I ask you because you have said previously that you have closed some deals quicker and better talking by phone.
And I think too that if you are good talking by phone, give confidence to the buyer, and explain to him the value of acquiring a great domain for their business, it can be definitive to close the sale.

And very big congratulations to @RJ for this amazing sale!! The domain definitely worths the price!!

There were no phone calls in this case. It was just an email reply and then LinkedIn correspondence. Once the terms were agreed it was managed via Epik escrow workflow with me serving as the broker.

 

[Sutruk]

Over the weekend, I helped @RJ complete a domain sale of the domain name Level7.com. For those of you who don't know RJ, he is the founder of NamePros. When he started moving his domains to Epik, I did not even realize it but have since enjoyed supporting his efforts and have found him to be a supportive ally.

The Deal
As for the transaction, the all-cash sale price was $30,000. Although we don't normally post domain sales, @RJ and I agreed that this was worth mentioning because it illustrates some points about how domain sellers can make effective use of LinkedIn for closing deals and increasing their professional network.

The domain name Level7.com is in of itself not a keyword name. However, if you look at the word level in combination with any number, they are pretty much all taken, even the spelled out versions. If you do a search you will also see that there are many buyers for such names. As such, I think $30K was entirely reasonable.

The Lesson
The relevant point that I want to highlight is the effective use of LinkedIn with customer followups. I am a little bit unique in that I have more than 22,000 1st level connections and about 1.2 million second level connections. However the principles are still relevant to anyone who is serious about this industry.

A few best practices that I am happy to share:

1. Identify the prospect
When we get an inquiry from a prospect, one of the first things I do is I look them up via LinkedIn. We usually know their name, email, phone number and their IP address. So with that, it is pretty straight forward to determine who they are, where they live, who they work for, whether they might be wealthy, etc.

2. Engage and verify the prospect
When responding to the email inquiry, I will often reference their LinkedIn profile and ask them if that is them. That lets them know that you know exactly who they are. It is also a really effective way to make sure you are
not dealing with an impostor. The impostors quickly scatter. Serious people will accept a friend request.

3. Follow up with the prospect
With the connection now made you now have the option of using LinkedIns free CRM tools which many people have tied to their mobile phone as an app which is a lot easier to notice than an email which can get easily lost in the shuffle. It is also a way to soft-sell if the buyer does not commit right away.

4. Manage an ongoing relationship
Once you are connected, if you are someone who periodically posts on LinkedIn, you do have an opportunity to stay in contact. You can also just like or comment on their posts as another way of signaling your interest in supporting their ambitions. It does not take a lot of time and usually comes back just like engaging on NP.

5. Build your network
Once you are connected with your prospect, you now also have an easy way to find more people like them. because, oftentimes you can also see their network. After all, birds of a feather often flock together. So, the guy who bought your CBD or crypto domain, probably hangs with similar persons. Etc.

So, there you go, a quick primer.

Finally, if someone does get an inquiry for a domain name and wants help closing a deal with a qualified buyer with a high potential prospect, I am happy to help out.

Amazing good job! For closing a 4 figure offer to a 30k sale!! And thanks for sharing the details, and the lessons!!

Did you manage to close the deal talking by phone to the buyer? I ask you because you have said previously that you have closed some deals quicker and better talking by phone.
And I think too that if you are good talking by phone, give confidence to the buyer, and explain to him the value of acquiring a great domain for their business, it can be definitive to close the sale.

And very big congratulations to @RJ for this amazing sale!! The domain definitely worths the price!!

 

[Rob Monster]

Level7.com is an amazing brandable domain name, and as you will probably see soon, this name will be a huge brand upgrade for the company that purchased it. IMO, $30k is a bargain price, and they were smart for buying it.

LinkedIn helped establish that we were dealing with a legitimate inquirer, and made me more willing to consider their offers.

Overall it a quick and easy transaction since trust was built-into the deal and all details were handled by Epik.

You are absolutely right there. It could just as easily have been a $250K moonshot. The price agreed here was about what the buyer could afford -- it was truly their maximum at this time. The seller would not accept less and the buyer could not afford more and did not want to finance. So, it was a win-win and RJ left some on the table but got good ROI. The reason for sharing the example is that deals like this are out there in abundance but you have to get to the person with budget authority to truly know what is possible.

At the end of the day, I am delighted that RJ got his ROI. I am equally delighted that the buyer got a world class brand name to power their modestly-funded tech venture. I believe THAT is what makes domaining truly awesome. Great domainers don't SQUAT. They add value by earning a return while adding value. And sometimes that value means being a bit philanthropic, e.g. gifting a domain to someone who could do a lot more good with it than we can. Sometimes it just means leaving a bit on the table while still booking a win.

 

[oldtimer]

Congrats @RJ

It's good to see that you are back in the game, @Rob Monster through all his efforts is giving everyone here new hope of becoming successful domainers. I like happy endings specially when they end in 30k

 

[Rob Monster]

LINKEDIN is one of the most serious outbound websites, but I have never found it to have CRM.

It is not a full CRM (yet) but it sure is a handy tool. I suppose SalesForce.com should have bought LinkedIn when they had the chance.

At Epik, we are going to explore the LinkedIn API to see how we can more effectively integrate into our CRM platform for managing inquiries. There might be something compelling there.

 

[Rob Monster]

Nice sale and good post...

Interesting to use it after the enquiry, like the thinking....

This is what I do for a living, network, market and sell through LinkedIn. I personally have a very good network of senior executives around the globe. It is a powerful tool if used correctly and professionally.

You can build a very good network from scratch if you position yourself right and play the long game. You don't need to sell to people straight away, build the connections, do the posts (short videos go down very well - free software available for this) and play the Social Media "like" game (something I don't do here) once you have the network in place start putting the feelers out there, softly, softly....build those relationships!

I have had a couple of articles written up and posted them, trying to get 1 a month done, good for positioning yourself as a thought leader over the long term...worth looking at doing...

Make sure your connection request is on point, don't just send loads of random requests without an introduction, make it personal. You only have a few words to grab their interest so make it count.

Also make sure your profile is 100% complete and looks and reads the part, have your picture on there, contact details and previous work history - Transparency is very very important, people will not deal with half baked, aggressive sales people....

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

Good things take time, patience and some dedication.....

*I do not use LinkedIn for this industry, that may change in the future. My contacts run the European, Asian, American or Global HR functions for big corporates, if I ever did decide to run domains through LinkedIn I would personally target SVP's, VP's or Global Directors in Marketing to start with and go from there. Contacting the CEO of company that says has 80,000 employees is not very realistic imo, start with with the senior decision makers in marketing who will have a budget and if you position yourself correctly and connect with them they will be glad to help!

*All of the above obviously requires that you have good domains to sell*​

1000% agreed here:

This would be my main concern, a lot of people will be reading this thread and try and jump on the LinkedIn band wagon without getting their ducks lined up and then complain they got done for spam or did not get anything from it.....

You do have to make a non-trash profile, preferably a real one.

Truth be told, if you are from emerging market you might initially find it harder to connect with everyone, No matter. Start by getting connected to the influencers and respected persons in your own country.

This will take time but it is worth it. Along the way, try not to be a spammer, and also resist the temptation to delete your account. It turns out some Epik staff once did that and now regret it.

The good news is that using the tools mentioned by Bill Hartzer you can fix that mistake quickly, but it still is a task that can be avoided by not being impulsive when you had a bad day!

 

[wwwweb]

Congrats couldn’t have happend to a nicer guy, I mean I guess most people didn’t know RJ was here first.

Great domain, I know we always think we can get more, and what not, but that is a significant amount that can buy some more domains, and do some other great things with. Great exit on it.

 

[bmugford]

Congrats on the sale.

I don't really used LinkedIn for marketing domains, but I do use it often for information about a potential buyer or domain owner. It really can help in negotiations.

I have also used it to write some articles & posts on the .ORG private equity deal and .COM price increases, in order to get the word out.

It is a network that is a little more serious than Twitter, Facebook, etc. That is good for business.

If anyone wants to connect, here is my profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmugford

Brad

 

[Croissant]

Congrats Rob & RJ!

I also try to keep my connections alive at LinkedIn

Should be an intensive care to customers/networks,
tailored messages for them not the automated ones

 

[Arfy]

Not only are you a clever deal guy but you also have a network.

Perhaps some day you can send the helicopter so I can come hang out on your yacht.

Keep crushing it and perhaps lift up a few others along the way. There is a lot of joy there. Trust me on that.

Thanks Rob. The yacht and helicopter are a distant dream but one should have dreams! I am happy providing for my family for now and helping who I can with what I have - usually knowledge rather money. I do try to help but I wont pretend to be a saint. I have been working on being more pious recently and I feel a lot more content for doing so. One thing I do know for sure, this life is temporary and the hereafter is where the greatest reward lies. Take refuge in God and trust in him. Be kind to others and do not forget, "To God we belong and to him we shall return".

Thank you for the kind words regarding the deal . Congrats on the sale too

 

[Rob Monster]

Their API documentation is here:

https://developer.linkedin.com/docs/rest-api

We have not done this yet, but when a lead comes in, I would like to have the system try to guess the possible LinkedIn profiles that map to the inquiry.

There is some scope for smart-pricing domains, automating responses, and even auto-following based on that information if it is a high probability match.

If someone has done anything with CRM intelligence using LinkedIn, would love to hear from you.

 

[Ategy]

Congrats on the sale guys .. good work!

My usage of Linked-In is a work in progress in terms of how I present myself .. not because I want to keep myself private .. but because I don't particularly want my "real world" job to follow my domain stuff. Basically in the case where if one day I call in sick, but they then see I made a blog post or whatever. Really can't wait to make the move to domaining full-time .. not quite there yet .. but at this point it's only a matter of time!

BTW .. if you see my logo as my linkedin avatar (also just added it to my signature temporarily .. click on "in"), then you've got the right person!

 

[DnFolk]

Congrats @Rob Monster great sale. lately been hearing a lot about sales through linkedin and how they are providing direct swift platform for outbound. Too bad few years before i had deleted my personal social media accounts including linkedin. Since then was using my brother's account for any info and not taking it seriously. But with recent surge of domainers activity at linkedin, time for me to get back there. Hope to connect with you, brilliant epik team and all friends from namepros.